How long before I buy a fish from lfs

[underwaterdan]

I saw a few fish in my lfs shipment that is out for sale. They are honest to me and told me they got them on Wednesday however they are already selling some. They have all been treated with copper and other meds and are eating and healthy looking.

 

[melypr1985]

Personally, I either wait until it's been in the tank for a while and has settled in and eating well OR (and what I prefer) I will make sure they order several of the fish I want and I go pick my favorite out of the 3 or 4 they order before they even get acclimated to their tanks. This requires a good relationship with the employee, knowing exactly when they get back from the airport with the shipment and getting there before some idiot starts dumping them in the tanks. I like this because then it never gets exposed to the Flukes and Ich I know are in those systems.... and anything else that might be lingering in there.

 

[underwaterdan]

Thanks. They were all eating, how long do you consider a while?

 

[melypr1985]

Thanks. They were all eating, how long do you consider a while?

A week or two, but typically the fish dont last that long. They get bought or die by then, mostly they sell really quickly though.

 

[Pete polyp]

If they're eating then pick them up and throw them in your own qt. Or just buy from live aquaria and diver den. I know diver den holds their fish for a minimum of 30 days before offering them for sale.

 

[steve&mari]

Unless you know the store qt everything before it's available for sale if it's eating looks healthy buy it n qt. Obviously your store don't qt or they wouldn't be available for sale yet. Our lfs is a rare gem for fish he qt all fish in backroom for 45 days treating for potential problems before they get transferred to sales floor. It's more then most have room or the budget to do but he's a true hobbyist started in a small polebarn and is largest lfs around us by far. But qt is needed to protect your other fish going forward.

 

[Pete polyp]

Unless you know the store qt everything before it's available for sale if it's eating looks healthy buy it n qt. Obviously your store don't qt or they wouldn't be available for sale yet. Our lfs is a rare gem for fish he qt all fish in backroom for 45 days treating for potential problems before they get transferred to sales floor. It's more then most have room or the budget to do but he's a true hobbyist started in a small polebarn and is largest lfs around us by far. But qt is needed to protect your other fish going forward.

I like those kinds of shops. One of the best stores I have been to started in a shed. The 3 owners were true hobbyists.

 

[Dtackett]

most LFS will hold fish for you for a while. my LFS will mark a fish sold in the system and put a sign up saying its sold and hold it for 2 weeks so you can go in and look and see how its doing before you pay for it. have another LFS that will let you know exactly when to be at the store to get the fish you ordered so it never even touches their system. that's my preferred method.

 

[Pete polyp]

most LFS will hold fish for you for a while. my LFS will mark a fish sold in the system and put a sign up saying its sold and hold it for 2 weeks so you can go in and look and see how its doing before you pay for it. have another LFS that will let you know exactly when to be at the store to get the fish you ordered so it never even touches their system. that's my preferred method.

I can't stand seeing fish and corals on hold at the store! Can't freaking stand it. I have been at these stores when the boxes arrive and there's always one guy hovering over the boxes that are being opened saying "hold this, hold that". Well I don't want it held I wanna buy it now with the money in my pocket! It's not right to allow someone to cherry pick everything that comes in and holds it for weeks while people are ready to take it home now. IMHO I don't want my fish and corals sitting in a lfs system where who knows what all is going on in them.

Rant over. Have a nice day [emoji4]

 

[Dtackett]

lol yeah, its annoying but it helps to be able to observe a fish for a while. I mean, if I can pick it up before it ever hits their system im buying it right there and taking it home in the bag it came in! but once it hits their system, I want to watch it for a while.

 

[Pete polyp]

lol yeah, its annoying but it helps to be able to observe a fish for a while. I mean, if I can pick it up before it ever hits their system im buying it right there and taking it home in the bag it came in! but once it hits their system, I want to watch it for a while.

That's why you set up your own quarantine

 

[Dtackett]

yeah but why buy something that you don't know the health of when you can watch it for a few weeks first to see how it handles the stress from shipping then place it in your own quarantine. with the cost of some of these fish I would rather know the condition of the fish when I take it home rather than say "well maybe it will be ok"

 

[Pete polyp]

yeah but why buy something that you don't know the health of when you can watch it for a few weeks first to see how it handles the stress from shipping then place it in your own quarantine. with the cost of some of these fish I would rather know the condition of the fish when I take it home rather than say "well maybe it will be ok"

That's the risk you take in this hobby. Why pass that risk onto the retailer only to increase the price of everything else in the store? If I can't afford to take the gamble on something I don't buy it.

 

[Pete polyp]

I would much rather that fish or animal be in my possession and I can be certain it's being handled properly to increase the chance of survival.

 

[Dtackett]

well, theres your way, then theres my way, then theres pauls way (he will literally toss in a fish that looks like its rolled in snow!) and with my way of doing things ive only lost 1 fish since I started reef keeping 3 years ago. and before then I only like maybe 6 fish in my 15 prior years of freshwater fish keeping. what works for me isn't the only way to do things, but it works for me.

 

[eatbreakfast]

I saw a few fish in my lfs shipment that is out for sale. They are honest to me and told me they got them on Wednesday however they are already selling some. They have all been treated with copper and other meds and are eating and healthy looking.

It really depends on the fish in question and the store they are at. Certain species of fish do better getting to your house as soon as possible, others should wait. I find 3-5 days is usually enough time to determine how the fish is doing.

If they're eating then pick them up and throw them in your own qt. Or just buy from live aquaria and diver den. I know diver den holds their fish for a minimum of 30 days before offering them for sale.

DD only holds them for 14 days, but just for observation, not qt.

I can't stand seeing fish and corals on hold at the store! Can't freaking stand it. I have been at these stores when the boxes arrive and there's always one guy hovering over the boxes that are being opened saying "hold this, hold that". Well I don't want it held I wanna buy it now with the money in my pocket! It's not right to allow someone to cherry pick everything that comes in and holds it for weeks while people are ready to take it home now. IMHO I don't want my fish and corals sitting in a lfs system where who knows what all is going on in them.

Rant over. Have a nice day [emoji4]

Having an LFS that holds livestock is invaluable. Many that do hold will need a deposit, so that usually limits how much new livestock can be cherry picked. I have even seen stores tell someone that they need to be able to have good stuff left to sell to others.

lol yeah, its annoying but it helps to be able to observe a fish for a while. I mean, if I can pick it up before it ever hits their system im buying it right there and taking it home in the bag it came in! but once it hits their system, I want to watch it for a while.

One thing to be aware of is how long the fish has already been in transit, the longer it is in the bag, the greater the shipping stress.

 

[melypr1985]

One thing to be aware of is how long the fish has already been in transit, the longer it is in the bag, the greater the shipping stress.

This is very true and a concern. You have to weigh the good and the bad doing it this way. I have had them do what I called a "water change" on the bag and add new oxygen to it, but I seem to remember something about opening a bag that was shipped for so long and the ammonia in the bag turning really toxic when the fresh air hits it? I can't remember exactly, but for me, I live about 15 minutes from the LFS and their holding tanks arn't the most trustworthy, so for sensitive fish like my two tangs.... I picked them up the minute they got to the store.

Its going to drive me crazy trying to remember where I heard that about ammonia and fresh oxygen when opening a bag that's been shipped with fish..... anybody know what I"m talking about?

 

[eatbreakfast]

This is very true and a concern. You have to weigh the good and the bad doing it this way. I have had them do what I called a "water change" on the bag and add new oxygen to it, but I seem to remember something about opening a bag that was shipped for so long and the ammonia in the bag turning really toxic when the fresh air hits it? I can't remember exactly, but for me, I live about 15 minutes from the LFS and their holding tanks arn't the most trustworthy, so for sensitive fish like my two tangs.... I picked them up the minute they got to the store.

Its going to drive me crazy trying to remember where I heard that about ammonia and fresh oxygen when opening a bag that's been shipped with fish..... anybody know what I"m talking about?

The CO2 expelled by the fish can't escape, so it lowers the ph, ph below a certain point (around 6, I believe) renders ammonia harmless, once the bag is open the CO2 can escape making ammonia dangerous again.

 

[Duke4Life]

I'm 1 of those that is asking the LFS to order something, as most fish they get in are the typical/what everyone else has and I'm not that into those/want something different. I pick up when arrive and place in my qt, as I feel being in my qt is better than the stores tank. DD may start to get some of my money

 

[eatbreakfast]

A good LFS is invaluable, seeing fish in person is something I greatly value. How a fish behaves, interacts, how readily it feeds, can all be nuanced observations, that I feel are better observed in person than even a wysiwyg pic.